The present invention relates to cranberry seed oil derivatives derived by the reaction of specific beta branched alcohols, referred to as guerbet alcohols and cold pressed cranberry seed oil. The choice of cold pressed cranberry seed oil as a raw material in the preparation of the compounds of the present invention is critical, since it has been found that the cold pressed cranberry seed oil contains a unique antioxidant which when reacted with a guerbet alcohol result in products that deliver said actives to the skin and hair, resulting in protection of the skin and hair from environmental factors such as acid rain, ozone attack and UV degradation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,345 issued May 2002 describes the refining of cold pressed cranberry seed oil, and is incorporated herein by reference. American cranberries, Vaccinium macrocarpon, are native plants of open, acid peat bogs in North America. Cranberry plants are evergreen perennial vines that produce runners and upright branches with terminal flower buds.
Cranberries have historically been harvested and either ingested as whole berries, such as in cranberry sauce, or have been processed for their juice. Pulp remaining after cranberry juice extraction processing has historically been regarded as an undesirable waste product with little or no utility.
In the United States, cranberries are grown and are harvested in the Northeast, Northwest and Great Lakes regions. Cranberries ripen and are harvested in autumn, which has made cranberries a holiday food. Cranberries have not changed significantly in appearance and nutritional value over time. Cranberries have typically been stored by freezing or drying the whole berries.
Cranberries have become a popular food only in recent years because cranberries have a very bitter taste. Historically, processors have not dealt well with the taste. Cranberries are known to contain quininic acid. It is the quininic acid that imparts to cranberries, the bitter taste. Cranberry juice has become more palatable because it is blended with other sugar-containing aqueous liquids.
Apart from an undesirable taste, quininic acid is believed to have nutraceutical properties. When ingested, quininic acid is converted to hippuric acid. Hippuric acid is believed to remove toxins from the bladder, kidneys, prostate and testicles. Under normal circumstances, oils useful in the cosmetic industry are refined with a variety of steps that are designed to maximize triglyceride content, and minimize color and odor. These steps include steam distillation, a process in which steam is sparged through the oil to remove odor and color bodies and solvent extraction with compounds like hexane, which remove additional odor and color bodies. We have learned that these processes, while improving color and odor, remove many of the desirable “active” materials like tocopherols, antioxidants and the like. What results is a light color, low odor triglyceride with no appreciable added skin benefits. We have surprisingly learned that when the cranberry seed oil that is cold processed is reacted with specific water-soluble silicone compounds, the actives (normally removed in non-cold press process) remain in the product, become water-soluble and have outstanding activity on the skin. In essence two things happen when the cold pressed cranberry seed oil is reacted with dimethicone copolyol. First the triglyceride reacts with the hydroxyl group of the silicone compound, giving a water-soluble ester. Secondly, the water-soluble ester solubilized the active components there as a consequence of cold pressing. Thirdly, these very desirable materials are deposited on the skin by the silicone fatty ester, based upon its proclivity to remain on the skin. The result is a unique delivery of the actives to the skin from totally natural fruit oil.
Guerbet alcohols have been known for many years, primarily for their liquidity at high molecular weight. Over the years there have been a number of derivatives patented. U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,236 to O'Lenick discloses a guerbet citric ester and polymers thereof useful in plastic lubrication. U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,121 issued Jan. 30, 1996 to O'Lenick teaches that esters based upon a guerbet acid and guerbet alcohol have surprisingly good liquidity. However these patents did not disclose or suggest the possibility of using cold pressed cranberry seed oil that is rich in antioxidants and other actives that could be delivered to the skin using a specific silicone ester as a delivery molecule.